Ann Romney has told a television station that if her husband, the
Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney, wins the presidential
election, her biggest concern would be his "mental well-being."
In an interview with Nevada's KTVN, Mrs Romney was asked what her
biggest worry was should Mitt Romney be elected to serve in the
White House. "I think my biggest concern obviously would just be for
his mental well-being," she said. "I have all the confidence in the
world in his ability, in his decisiveness, in his leadership skills,
in his understanding of the economy. So for me, I think it would
just be the emotional part of it."
Her remarks are the latest example of the disarming candour - or
gaffes, as opponents call them - that has characterised the Romney
campaign. In Iowa last week, Mrs Romney told those inside her
husband's party who have been critical of his campaign: "Stop it.
This is hard. You want to try it?"; and the candidate himself has
supplied a rich crop, ranging from his now-notorious "47 per cent of
the people will vote for the President no matter what", to his
clumsy raising of the "birther" issue, and undiplomatic doubting of
London's ability to run a good Olympics. And on Friday, in
Pennsylvania, Mr Romney admitted that this former swing state would
be difficult for him to win.
The major opportunity to turn things around - Mr Obama currently
holds a 5 per cent lead nationally, with wider advantages in swing
states - comes this Wednesday with the first of the presidential
debates in Denver. The subject is domestic policy and the tepid US
economy, Mr Romney's main campaign theme. He is now undergoing
intense rehearsals with Ohio Republican Senator Rob Portman playing
the role of Mr Obama. The preparation includes how to make sure Mr
Romney does not come across as scolding, and avoids complaining
about the debate rules - something he did several times during the
presidential primary battle.
Alan Schroeder of Northeastern University in Boston, who has
written a history of presidential debates, said: "They are pretty
evenly matched as debaters. They both tend to be more intellectual
than emotional, and they are both articulate and comfortable on
camera. But they would both prefer to be in a more controlled
setting."
Debates rarely make a big difference to the final results, but a
strong performance can give a candidate a bump of a few percentage
points, said Mitchell McKinney, a political communications
specialist at the University of Missouri. "This is Romney's chance.
Can he take advantage?" Recent presidential debates suggest the
first debate could be Mr Obama's toughest. He will have to walk a
fine line in acknowledging the nation's economic difficulties, while
offering a more hopeful vision for the future.
